Diver with Shoulder Issues

[Akimbo]

Which way up are firefighters rigs and why??...

To be fair, firefighting and mine-safety rigs do have protectors or valves with resilient bumpers to protect them — as they should. I find Interspiro’s Divator doubles protector used on diving and firefighting rigs to be especially elegant. Unfortunately it is only a single-regulator manifold. Attached are images of my old Divator 324 doubles.

Most rebreathers are also valve down and use the larger center-mounted CO2 absorbent canister to protect valves and regulators, sometimes plus a protector. The reason that the majority of dive cylinders are valve-up is it is cheaper and too few divers complain. It would be very simple and inexpensive to design a production doubles manifold with integral protector if manufacturers though there was a market. The first image is a single rebreather valve with a small bumper. Of course commercial divers wear their bailout bottles valve-down as well.

 

[Randy g]

I injured my shoulder skiing, not badly enough to have surgery (yet) but enough that it does limit my motion, so I went sidemount, not to wiggle in to little underwater holes, but to get the valves in front of me. Maybe I could still shut down the isolater in time in back mounted doubles, but there's no question with the valves at my sides. Don't know about upside-down tanks on the back but don't see any reason why not. I've seen the discussion before.

Same here. I just switched over due to shoulder and wrist problems. I will be diving sm in NC and Va this season.

 

[kr2y5]

I have a prior shoulder injury that wasn't really "severe", but I did have a fracture half a year ago, and eventually developed a zoo of problems including rotator cuff issues, chronic shoulder blade pain, biceps tendonitis, inflammation, etc., most of which resulted from compensating for something else. I can say from my own experience that sidemount isn't necessarily always super easy on the shoulders mobility-wise, either... e.g., getting into my armpits to secure bungee on my harness can sometimes be a little painful. I think it depends a lot on what kind of injury it was, how it healed, etc. Where I think sidemount wins the most is the fact that if you are feeling iffy, you can carry just one tank at a time and put less stress on the injured arm.

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

I have a prior shoulder injury that wasn't really "severe", but I did have a fracture half a year ago, and eventually developed a zoo of problems including rotator cuff issues, chronic shoulder blade pain, biceps tendonitis, inflammation, etc., most of which resulted from compensating for something else. I can say from my own experience that sidemount isn't necessarily always super easy on the shoulders mobility-wise, either... e.g., getting into my armpits to secure bungee on my harness can sometimes be a little painful. I think it depends a lot on what kind of injury it was, how it healed, etc. Where I think sidemount wins the most is the fact that if you are feeling iffy, you can carry just one tank at a time and put less stress on the injured arm.

That is true too! Sidemount can be a PITA... To me its all about redundancy and being able to carry one tank at a time to the shore. I have a bit of a problem with my shoulder and neck due to a car accident last year so I changed to sidemount. I think the OP should look into it more. Single, back mounted tank is so much easier!!! Problem is that for the type of diving I do having the 2 tanks gives me peace of mind.

 

[DaleC]

Here is a single inverted tank. I found a St72 to be a little too tall but a HP 80 would be perfect.
There was a thread a couple of years ago where I put together an inverted rig to see what hoses could be used etc... IIRC a longhose worked, octo worked, drysuit LP worked, SPG could be made to work but a shorter one would be better. The only problem was the wing inflator LP, a longer one was needed.

Yorkshire Divers has a number of inverted divers, it appears to be more common over there.



Back to the OP:

If I didn't live near others who also dove inverted I would probably try SM first, to see if the shoulder could take it. Mainly because I do believe there is some value in having a community of like minded divers to bounce ideas/issues off of. But if SM didn't work (either clipping in or boarding boats) I would consider going inverted. Spending some time on the UK boards would give you all the info you would need for parts supplies etc... They have the system pretty well worked out as do some US divers like Akimbo.

If US Divers hadn't bought out Ted Eldred we might all be diving single hose inverted tanks

 

[Akimbo]

The arm-shoulder joint problem has to be viewed differently from a neck/shoulder/back problem. The first is an issue of range of movement while the latter is more an issue of weight bearing on the shoulders.

I have yet to find a rig that transfers much weight off the shoulders and onto the hips — side, back, or even front mount. I am interested if anyone knows of one for the Lift to Freedom Project I am working with for the Monterey Bay Veterans.

…. Spending some time on the UK boards would give you all the info you would need for parts supplies etc...

The Brits tend to call them Bull Bars if you are searching. These are the only ones I know of that is marketed there.
Diving Valve Protectors, Tank Lift Bars, Rebreather Lift Bars, Protectors & Lift Bars

 

[kr2y5]

I am sure it depends on the individual, but for me at least, sidemount actually seems easier as far as weight distribution goes. Backmounted doubles are exerting a force that feels like someone wants to rip my shoulder blade off my back, and it feels very uncomfortable to walk in doubles for any length of time. On the other hand, I have walked several times out of the water in my sidemount rig and tanks still attached to me, and I did not feel this sort of discomfort. If anything, it felt easier than walking with doubles. YMMV.

 

[TSandM]

Wow -- I'd say the exact opposite! I can walk in back-mounted doubles fine, but the one time I tried to walk in fully rigged up sidemount gear, I could barely do it at all. The "wobbliness" of the tanks made me feel as though I was going to lose my balance and fall. But of course, I'm half your size, too.

 

[tbone1004]

sidemount is very unstable when walking due to the tanks not being fully secure, I also don't like them on boats unless they have an elevator or the mates are already loading deco and stage bottles over the side.

Inverted manifolded doubles I don't like, slob knobs help, but still not a fan.

Inverted independent doubles I have no issue with and actually prefer the idea to "regular" doubles in the US, but finding cages is somewhat difficult.

 

[kr2y5]

Wow -- I'd say the exact opposite! I can walk in back-mounted doubles fine, but the one time I tried to walk in fully rigged up sidemount gear, I could barely do it at all. The "wobbliness" of the tanks made me feel as though I was going to lose my balance and fall. But of course, I'm half your size, too.

To be fair, I haven't walked in sidemount tanks for any significant distance, and the small sample size when I walked them out of the water does not really allow for formulating conclusions... this being said, sidemount tanks, having one attachment point in the front and one in the back, seem to exert more or less a vertical force that allows one to stand more or less straight and upright while wearing them. Backmounted doubles, on the other hand, require leaning and pushing one's shoulders slightly forward, while the straps are pulling one's shoulders and trying to rotate them backward. To me at least, this is enough to make it more uncomfortable. I'm sure it depends a lot on the person, especially their posture.